Engine turns over, beeps twice but won't start

Jeff Fabiani said:
@Wanderer 290 Is this for a carb'd engine or EFI? (excuse my ignorance)
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You can use the ether on both carb or EFI. Either way, if you're not getting fuel, the ether should tell you that it's a fuel-delivery issue.

Jeff Fabiani said:
That'll be a head slapper for sure, that i didn't look at the fuel tank. I'll take a closer look next time i'm there.
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If you do have sufficient fuel, check for the fuel pump priming. You mentioned in your first post you could here it. Check again. Electric fuel pumps only last so long, as do the relays that power them.
 
Be glad you're working in a very friendly bilge - they're not all as easy as this one. I used to have the same model and one of the reasons I originally bought it was how open it is, making it easier to work on the engine. That's a definitely a plus!

Try starting the engine again with the fuel cap off. I doubt your vent is plugged since it's internal to the cap, but the hose could be plugged. It's a bit of a long shot, but it's also easy to check/rule out. If it dies again, unscrew the fuel filter and check the level. Next would be to put a fuel pressure tester on it and observe.

I saw you mentioned having trouble getting the flame arrestor off... cut the stud down as much as possible. It's tight, I remember, but its doable.
 
It was driving me crazy wondering if my tank had been siphoned so i quickly stopped by the boat today. Tank is still half full. I didn't have starter fluid on me unfortunately. But i did open the gas cap and attempt to fire up the engine. It did the same thing as the other day...started up and sounded very rough and died a minute later. After that i was unable to start it.

@Nater Potater I can hear the fuel pump priming when i turn the key.
 
One thing i realized i have neglected to do was replace the fuel filter. I'm not sure if an old/bad fuel filter would result in my issue, but i have ordered one and will replace it asap. Assuming this is an easy swap out, but do i need to fill the new one with fuel before installation, or is that not necessary?
 
Sometimes yes, sometimes no - often a few times of just turning the key on will fill it. I've never really found a rhyme or reason as to why it usually works fine like that and other times it doesn't. But, it certainly can't hurt to fill it.

FYI, you can eliminate pretty much the entire fuel supply side of things by hooking up a portable tank.
 
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UPDATE:

Looks like the fuel/water separator was the culprit. I swapped it out, filling the new one with fuel. It started right up sounding a tad rough at first but it evened out and ran for 20 minutes. Turned it off and started it back up a handful of times, each time doing so without issue.

Very glad for another easy fix.
 
you probably have a fuel tank full of crap, might wont to take a look. Water in the tank leads to tank failure/corrosion
 
Well what do you think the filter caught? Now that a new one has fixed the problem
 
scoflaw said:
Well what do you think the filter caught? Now that a new one has fixed the problem
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I poured the old filter into a pickle jar and it was clear, no debris at all. This filter has never been changed in the 3 years I have owned it so i'm assuming water has slowly been deposited into it until the water began to spill into the fuel system.
 
At least you found the toggle! And now, if it starts to act up again, you know what to do. It's possible you're seeing nineteen years of buildup finally causing a flow issue, and you might not see it again for a long time. Since you didn't see anything when dumping the old filter, I'd just swap the filter during its scheduled time and see how it does. Were it me, however, I'd be wanting to peer down the fuel sender access hole just to get a warm fuzzy of the tank's interior.
 
Nater Potater said:
At least you found the toggle! And now, if it starts to act up again, you know what to do. It's possible you're seeing nineteen years of buildup finally causing a flow issue, and you might not see it again for a long time. Since you didn't see anything when dumping the old filter, I'd just swap the filter during its scheduled time and see how it does. Were it me, however, I'd be wanting to peer down the fuel sender access hole just to get a warm fuzzy of the tank's interior.
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I will definitely take a closer look into my tank to ensure everything in there is ok.
 
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